Just because it's rivalry week doesn't mean we have to throw out the records and forget about last season.

Alabama has won the past two BCS titles and handled Auburn in the regular-season finale both seasons with ease. This year, the Tigers have bounced back in a big way from last season's 3-9 record. They're 10-1, ranked No. 4 and this Iron Bowl is being touted as the Mother of All Iron Bowls. But will that be enough for Gus Malzahn's gang to dethrone the Crimson Tide?

Elsewhere, Duke has a huge opportunity in front of itself — all it needs to do is beat rival North Carolina (something that doesn't happen very often).

Michigan appears to be overmatched against rival Ohio State (do we throw out the records here?). Meanwhile, there's plenty at stake when South Carolina and Clemson tangle.

See what SN's Matt Hayes has to say about these games and more in this week's Five Things to Watch.

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The state of Iron

It’s the Iron Bowl, everyone. Seasons on the line, championships in the balance, neighbor hating neighbor.

You know, everything that makes the best rivalry in sports.

Forget about Yankees-Red Sox or Cowboys-Redskins. This thing that happens once a year in the state of Alabama is a fantastic and sadistic thing of beauty.

That Alabama and Auburn have combined to win the last four national titles; that both the Tide and Tigers still have sights set on winning the whole thing again, just makes this year’s version that more intriguing.

Which is to say, the Tigers are going to run the ball, dictate tempo and get the game to the fourth quarter. In a perfect world, that is.

The reality is, this Auburn team is a lot like the 2010 Auburn team that won it all. With one exception: the best player in college football (Cam Newton) leading the way.

That’s not to diminish the impact of current Auburn QB Nick Marshall, who has had a terrific season. It’s just that this team — especially defensively with a bending not breaking style — looks a whole lot like the 2010 team.

Tre Mason is just as dangerous and productive as 2010 tailback Michael Dyer, and the offensive line — not as senior-laden as the 2010 team — dominates the line of scrimmage. But like it did in 2010, it comes down to quarterback play for Auburn.

Newton, the best player in the game, played so well that a 24-7 halftime deficit on the road in Tuscaloosa meant nothing. Marshall might have to have a similar-type game — especially in the passing game.

If Auburn can’t throw consistently, Alabama’s run defense — No. 4 in the nation (91.3 ypg.) — will load up to stop the run and control the game. It’s that simple.

It took a last-second touchdown pass last year for Duke to beat North Carolina, end a nine-game losing streak to the Tar Heels and qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1994.

As momentous as that game was, Saturday’s renewal of the rivalry could mean so much more for Duke. Win the game — as an underdog, no less — win the ACC Coastal

Division and advance to the conference championship game.

Now, some reality for the feel-good story: UNC has won five straight (should be six; blew the Miami game), and backup QB Marquise Williams has accounted for 13 touchdowns during streak (look, Gators, teams actually do have successful backup QBs!).

Williams is hot, and the Tar Heels are better on both sides of the ball since losing four of five games to begin the season. Not a good combination for a Duke team that struggled to beat Wake Forest last week and looks like it’s trying to coast into a division title.

Brian Kelly announced late last week that QB Everett Golson has reapplied to Notre Dame after sitting out this fall as punishment for academic misconduct.

After watching this team this fall — and while staring at the final regular-season game at Stanford — the looming question: would the Irish have been any better this fall with Golson?

The answer, despite the ease to criticize Tommy Rees, is no. So while Notre Dame travels to Palo Alto to try and win nine games this season, remember that the Irish worked around Golson’s limitations for much of last season — and needed Rees in relief to win critical games.

Would Golson have been better this fall? Absolutely. Would it have been enough against any of the three losses (Michigan, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh)? Doubtful.

Rees (or Golson) isn’t playing on the lines of scrimmage, where Notre Dame has been beaten time and again this fall. Nowhere will those problems be more evident than this weekend’s game at Stanford. A physical mismatch.

What’s worst for Michigan: this horribly disappointing season, or Ohio State getting further and further away from the pack in the Big Ten?

How far, you ask? We’re going to see this weekend in Ann Arbor, when the Wolverines try to keep Ohio State from making a statement for poll voters.

In this beauty contest of a BCS race, it pays to score style points. The fact that Urban Meyer owns rivalry games should give us an idea of what happens at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

Meyer is 20-3 in rivalry games at Bowling Green (Toledo), Florida (Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State) and Ohio State (Michigan). For those wondering: the most points scored by an opponent in Michigan Stadium is 65 by Illinois in 2010.